Is Allison Really An Entrepreneur?

The most valuable thing I learned from this class was how important it is to make meaning in what you feel your calling is. There was a short little video where Guy Kawasaki talked about making meaning in what you do as an entrepreneur.   He said if you were going to start a business or non-profit you should set out to right a wrong, stop something great from going under or make meaning.   When I originally thought about owning my own business, my motivation was based on creativity but my thoughts were based on profits.   I guess I was thinking I would be in charge and organize and run my little business.   I have since decided that I want my life’s work to mean something. If I am going to spend my time and talents on something, I want the time spent to bring meaning to my life or someone else’s.   I don’t want to waste my time chasing the dollar.             “To put it simply, living a life of meaning is...

I think the ideas that inspired me most this week were both about vision.   I am a visual learner.   I learn best when I can see it in front of me, when I can picture it in my mind.   Abstract ideas don’t make sense to me until I can “see” it.   This week as I read two articles really spoke to me:   “Identifying and Exploiting the Right Entrepreneurial Opportunity…for You” by Howard H. Stevenson and Shirley M. Spence (Harvard Business School, June 22, 2009) and “An Attitude of Gratitude” by President Thomas S. Monson (Ensign, April 1992).               The Right Entrepreneurial Opportunity had some very helpful information in it.   I really appreciated the framework for Identifying and Exploiting Opportunities, specifically the opportunity analysis and criteria.   Being an entrepreneur is a combination of business life and personal life.   I loved the specific points to consider when a...

This week I read a speech, "Microlending: Toward a Poverty Free World" by Mohamed Yunus.  I was so inspired by his work.  He started a bank to loan money to the poor in Bangladesh.  I loved the way he talked about the worth and creativity of people.  I loved watching the way he was able to positively impact his little corner of the world.  I could feel his enthusiasm and wondered what his passion could accomplish.  I watched a video of a man who talked about the elimination of the small pox disease.  He talked about the passionate commitment to rid the world of this disease and the army of people that it took to do so.  I wonder if we committed ourselves to eliminating poverty in the world, the way we eliminated small pox, could we do it? We also read an article from the Harvard Business Review titled, "What's a business for?" by Charles Handy. Based on what you read in the first two pages (pages 3 and 4), why are virtue and integrity so vital...